


Handprint

by pomidor



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: M/M, this is the cheesiest thing i ever wrote i promise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-20
Updated: 2016-06-20
Packaged: 2018-07-16 03:21:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7249957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pomidor/pseuds/pomidor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harrison is not amused with Barry's inclination to touch him. His plans never work out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Handprint

‘Is it unpleasant?’ Barry looks at him with badly concealed regret when he asks that.

‘Barry, it’s not-’

‘You need to tell me if my touch feels horrible.’

Harrison somehow knew it would end up badly when he brought up the topic of Barry’s casual touches. He knows the meta does not mean anything bad by it, does not even think about it much. Barry is just a tactile person is all and it is probably not easy for him to see that Harrison is not one. He told himself he will explicitly ask Barry not to get so close, but now, seeing the boy with a somehow betrayed expression and looking at him with those big puppy eyes of his, Harrison is getting soft. He never considered himself as a very sensitive person, but apparently the Flash does that to people.

‘No, listen, it doesn’t feel horrible. It’s just that I was never a person who got very close to others, okay?’

In a split second Barry’s expression turns form betrayed to sad and pitying. It’s actually worse, because now the idiot probably imagines some tragic past or loneliness or whatever.

‘Barry, I’m not saying that I don’t enjoy human contact, fine? I’m just saying that it takes time before I do. Even with my wife it took a while.’

Barry’s face lightens up and for a second Harrison thinks it went well. That he won’t regret this conversation.

‘Oh, than we must work on getting you used to it.’

He pats Harrison on his shoulder lightly with a warm expression and flashes off before Harrison can correct him.

……………………………

The thing is, Barry didn’t really touch him that much. Certainly less than he touched Caitlin or Cisco or anyone. Harrison realizes now, that it would probably have stayed that way if he kept his mouth shut. 

Now, Barry touches him every day and while his touches are not invasive in any way, they are distracting. 

Before, the contact was spontaneous, only given in moments of joy or distress. Now, there is a system. 

He always touches him in greeting. Most days it’s just a light shadow of fingertips on his arm in passing. This one it was easy to get used to as Harrison knew to expect it. 

The following ones are problematic. They happen when he is working and Barry is curious. He either leans over him, putting his hand on Harrison’s shoulder, or stands closer. It’s close enough for Cisco and Caitlin to notice and it makes him feel restless to be observed by them. They don’t happen every day, because Harrison likes working alone and Barry doesn’t go out of his way to disturb him. Their number can be anything from zero to five in a day.

The next ones don’t happen every day either. Sometimes, he eats with Team Flash, which he is supposedly a part of now that he betrayed them and was forgiven. Usually, it’s just take-out, but sometimes they go out for burgers. Wherever they are, Barry always sits next to him. Even when Iris is with them which, he can tell, is really disconcerting for the rest of Team Flash by now. What’s more, he is not only sitting next to him, their legs are also touching, light enough that Harrison would take it for an accident if it didn’t happen every time. 

The other regular is what Harrison calls a ‘goodbye handshake’. This one is actually the worst one, because, contrary to the others, is needs his cooperation. When Barry thrust his hand in Harrison’s direction for the first time, he almost laughed at it, but Barry stood with his hand out, waiting patiently, something Harrison did not think was possible for the man. The other two were staring, with eyes stupidly wide and Harrison shook the hand quickly, if only to avoid further embarrassment. It felt like giving Barry permission for all his craziness.

The worst part of it all was not that Cisco and Caitlin were watching it with increasing wonder and amusement. 

No, the worst was the speedster. Barry was very bad at hiding that he was cataloguing his every reaction, withdrawing when Harrison showed signs of distress and pressing on when he did not. He was running an experiment on him and although Harrison was not okay with this, he often forgot to show distress, or better yet, feel it, when Berry’s hand became a familiar weight on his shoulder.

………………………………. 

Harrison decided to ignore it until Barry inevitably got bored. And he would have if not for one little thing he noticed while being in Big Belly Burger with the gang. 

Barry yet again was sitting next to him, knees touching and all. Even Cisco seemed to not notice it much anymore. Then Barry stood up to greet an acquaintance. When he returned he sat up further than before. Not that Harrison noticed it. Not until his own body betrayed him and unconsciously moved closer to the boy. 

For a second Harrison panicked. Barry did not seem to notice the movement, which calmed him down a little. 

Suddenly, he felt a wave of anger. Barry had conditioned him to need his touch, the sneaky little brat. He probably did not even do it on purpose, he just didn’t want Harrison to feel lonely or some other shit like that. 

In retrospective, the idea Harrison came up with was neither the smartest not the most conscious of his decisions, and he did some pretty stupid stuff in his life. He was overcome with the need to make the Flash feel the way he was feeling, be embarrassed and confused. He definitely wanted to scare him off, and he knew it was spiteful of him.

He put his hand on Barry’s thigh, low enough to not seem like a complete pervert, but high enough to get a message across. He could pinpoint the moment Barry realized, because he actually stuttered in his conversation with Cisco. 

Of course, Harrison’s plan went to hell. They always somehow did. 

Barry’s hand slowly, hesitantly covered his own on the boy’s thigh. Barry’s face was red, Harrison’s own was probably just as red and Cisco and Caitlin were definitely smart enough to look at them and figure what was happening as their faces were becoming increasingly pinkish. Barry closed his eyes and squeezed his hand, looking every bit a high school boy asking a girl to prom. 

And what was Harrison supposed to do? What should he do with this young man who forgave him his betrayal, saved his daughter, made him feel like part of something? This man half his age, who belonged to another earth and who he will most likely have to part with. This beautiful person he should not have met. 

He didn’t know. He only felt the warmth of Barry’s hand grounding him in this place, on this earth. 

So he did the only thing he knew how to. He turned his palm up and squeezed the offered hand back.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry. I wrote it while I should be either sleeping or learning Italian literature this is my only excuse for it's quality.


End file.
